He Should Have known
by writereadlive
Summary: Three things should've told Magnus that he wouldn't get the relaxing date he wanted: 1) Clary was mad 2) Practical clothes were needed 3) His boyfriend was a Shadowhunter He should have known what mundane activity Alec would pick, but he didn't and now he was sweaty and out of breath with his pride in pieces.


**A/N-** Just a little idea that wouldn't get out of my mind. I hope you like it.

 **Disclaimer-** Characters belong to Cassandra Clare.

* * *

It was supposed to be something fun and light-hearted; something to cheer them both up after the horror of their time in Edom and the heartache of their temporary breakup. A couple of weeks after their return from Idris, things had settled down into a normal routine; well, as normal as life got for a shadowhunter and a warlock. Magnus' appointments with his clients settled into their usual routine; while his boyfriend had resumed his regular hunts and was starting to undertake a more diplomatic role regarding disputes amongst Downworlders.

He wouldn't lie, their relationship didn't immediately bounce back to what it was before they broke up, but Magnus was glad for that fact. By the end, their relationship was plagued by secrecy and (although they might not have seen it) mistrust and he didn't want that again. It took time, but they soon managed to build something better, a relationship where Magnus didn't feel like he had to hide himself away from the blue-eyed man and Alec didn't feel like a replaceable moment in time.

They were in a comfortable place now, and Magnus thought it was time they did something just the two of them. When he first thought of the idea, he thought it was brilliant; he would get Alec to pick a mundane activity for their date. There would (hopefully) be nobody asking for a potion, or a spell or for help in resolving a pointless argument over who could walk down what street. There would be no demons and no judgemental shadowhunters; just the two of them and the opportunity to laugh and unwind. In his mind he thought that maybe Alec would choose the cinema and dinner or a trip to the funfair he had seen advertised on the street. In his mind, Magnus had forgotten the one activity that would probably appeal most to his fully trained shadowhunter boyfriend.

He should have known that he would not be getting the relaxing date he was hoping for.

* * *

The first sign that the evening would not be as stress-free as he planned was when his doorbell rang at 3PM, just two and a half hours after he phoned Alec and told him to pick a mundane activity for their date that evening. Magnus wasn't expecting anybody so he just decided to ignore it, choosing instead to sip some of the wine in his glass and refocus on the documentary that was playing on the television. That worked for all of five seconds before his bell rang again, the other person holding it down instead of releasing it. It seemed that if he wanted any peace then he would have to open the door and tell them to go away. He had just angrily swung the door open to do so, his best scowl on his face, when he came face to face with Clary. The scowl on _her_ face stunned the frustration out of him, and she spoke before he had a chance to say hello.

"Do you want to explain to me why I just spent two hours of my life telling Alec all about the different activities mundanes do when they go on dates?" It was easy to tell she was not happy, her voice was clipped, her arms were folded across her chest and she looked at him as if she was planning some form of painful revenge.

Magnus smiled at her sheepishly. "Sorry Biscuit, I should have realised that Alec might need help in learning what Mundanes usually do on dates. I just thought it would be a fun way for the two of us to unwind."

"Well", she replied as her scowl lifted and her mouth rose treacherously into a reluctant smile. "Do you want to know something that isn't fun? Spending two hours of your life explaining different activities only for Alec to reject all but the last one."

"I really am sorry Biscuit. Can I get you a coffee to make it up to you?"

"Coffee would be lovely thank you", Clary said as she walked over the threshold and closed the door behind her. "But I'm not really mad, it was actually kind of sweet how determined he was to pick the right thing. If I'm honest, I think it's my own fault it took so long; the second I said it I knew he'd pick it, it's just so...Alec. I should've suggested it first."

"Care to tell me what 'it' is?"

Clary's soft smile turned into a wicked grin, mischief alight in her eyes. "Nope, Alec made me promise not to. I just said yes, because at that point I had gone through every activity I could think of and if I told you I think he'd change it and I have no more suggestions".

Magnus raised an eyebrow. " _Every_ activity; what did that include?"

Clary took a sip of her coffee, using the time it took to think. "Well, the cinema, dinner, then there was the funfair I saw on a poster the other day...uh...bowling, go-karting, the theatre, a comedy club, ice-skating, roller skating, canoeing, going to a late night at a museum or art gallery, a wine tasting experience, star gazing, going to a jazz club or some other live music event, pottery..."

"Pottery!" Magnus almost choked on the bit of wine he was drinking. "Whatever made you think that was a date activity?"

"It could be", Clary shot back defensively. "You could have made cute couples' salt and pepper shakers or mugs or something. I don't know; I was running out of ideas at that point. I'd already tried archery but he said that was too like the day job. I honestly thought paint-balling would have been the one; he looked interested in it but he said he wanted to hear what else I had."

"You're really not going to tell me what it is, are you?"

"Nope, Alec really wants it to be a surprise. Besides, you called in all your favours through my having to sit through Alec rejecting my ideas all afternoon."

Magnus let it slide after that; he really did feel a little bad that Clary was dragged into the date planning when she probably had something else she wanted to be doing. They finished the rest of their drinks discussing Simon's training and arranging for the two of them to go out some time; Magnus had always been fond of Clary and was a little sad to think that they never got to spend much time alone together. It was just one of the many consequences of facing war.

* * *

The second sign that the evening would not be as calming as Magnus wanted arrived an hour after Clary left. Magnus was just reading an old book on rare demon poisons when he heard his phone chime. A quick glance at the screen indicated a message from Alec:

 **Meet outside the Institute at 6? Wear something practical.**

Magnus groaned at the word 'practical', with Alec that hardly ever meant 'relaxing' and nearly always involved some form of strenuous physical activity. Still, Magnus was happy to go along with it since it would make Alec happy and seeing the smile that would light up his face never failed to put Magnus in a good mood.

It took a while, but Magnus finally managed to find something he could wear. His only pair of trousers that had enough movement in them was a pair of white-washed jeans with turquoise undertones. They probably weren't as practical as Alec was looking for, but it was the best Magnus could do. Pairing them with a blue t-shirt and his dark blue trainers he didn't remember buying should allow him to passably manage whatever activity Alec had planned.

When he was as happy as he could be with his outfit, Magnus stepped out of his loft and began the walk to the Institute, making sure to arrive exactly at 6. Alec was rarely late but Magnus still wasn't completely comfortable with hanging out at the building so it was better for everyone if he was just on time.

Once he reached the gates Alec greeted him with a quick kiss and a firm hug. After pulling away Magnus did try to ask what it was that required him to wear practical clothes, but Alec just shook his head playfully and told him that he would find out when they got there. Magnus was a little exasperated with all the secrecy, but that immediately disappeared when Alec took hold of his hand and led him to their destination. It was only a 25 minute walk and as soon as they were outside the building Magnus knew exactly what Alec wanted to do.

* * *

The third sign that Magnus would not get the relaxing evening he really wanted was the fact that his boyfriend was a shadowhunter used to staking out targets in the dead of night and had an affinity for dark coloured clothes. Magnus should have known what Alec wanted to do for this date. Had he stopped to think about it, he would have realised that a game of laser tag was probably the most 'Alec' game that the mundane world could have created.

But he didn't think about it and now he was drastically unprepared and convinced that his evening was going to be the complete opposite of relaxing; the main problem being that they were both quite competitive. Some of Magnus' reservations must have shown on his face because the smile that Alec had been wearing during their walk dimmed a little.

"If you don't like it, we can always go and do something else. I think Clary mentioned there was a funfair not too far from here".

The way Alec said that, as if Magnus could just insist they do something else and Alec wouldn't even fight for what he wanted steeled Magnus' resolve.

"No Alec, this is great. I know you'll love it but we might have to reign in our competitive streaks though, these games are quite popular amongst young mundanes."

"Who said anything about a competition?" Magnus loved the way Alec tried to look innocent, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. But as usual, it was his eyes that gave him away.

"Don't tell me you haven't already planned one."

"Okay I have", Alec relented with a chuckle. "Best of three games? Loser can buy dinner, but the games are my treat."

 _Three games?_ Magnus might have lived for hundreds of years, but he doesn't exactly have the best endurance since he never really needed it. Getting mugged? Use magic. Late for the bus? Create a portal. By all means, Magnus wasn't exactly _un_ fit, he did regular exercise and could do it for some time, but he had done laser tag once before and he knew that the ten/fifteen minutes of constant sprinting was worse than the jogs he usually went on.

But it was Alec, and the only other time he had seen him this excited was when they had left for their holiday, so Magnus would just play the three games. At least he had the advantage of knowing how the game works so there may be a chance that Alec might not be the victor.

"You have yourself a deal Lightwood".

"But no magic", Alec was quick to add.

Magnus inclined his head in agreement. "Then no runes for you."

"Deal", Alec beamed before he kissed Magnus' cheek and opened the door for him. When they finally got to the waiting area to receive their instructions on how everything worked, Magnus could barely hold in his laughter; it looked like there were only two other people above the age of 10 playing in these three games. He supposed the owners saved money by grouping all the people who arrived at the same time together.

"Ready?"

"You bet I am", Magnus smiled in return.

* * *

Three games later and Magnus was seriously questioning if he was ever truly 'ready'. He started sweating buckets somewhere at the start of the second game, and by the third game he was reduced to harsh panting as he tried to regain his breath. However, despite not seeing his boyfriend for most of the game (he had quickly slipped away once they were let into the dark room) he was confident that he hit enough of the other players' targets to not lose to Alec too drastically. The thought allowed him to not dwell too much on his physical state. Unfortunately, the illusion of his success was immediately shattered when they were led to the scoreboards; not only had Alec been the highest scorer of everyone, but Magnus had somehow managed to score fewer points than 8 year old mundanes. When he saw that, he felt whatever pride he had left slowly drain away. He would have to swear Alec to secrecy if he didn't want Jace blackmailing him for the next decade.

"It's so unfair", Magnus complained (not for the first time) as they made their way to the Japanese restaurant Alec wanted to go to.

"What's unfair?" Alec spoke with only a hint of a smile, and Magnus had to at least admit that he had been magnanimous in his victory. "I didn't use any runes that aren't permanent, just as we agreed."

"Many things about this were unfair!"

"Like what?"

"Well, to start with you do spend nearly all your time hiding out in the dark from things that want to kill you while also accurately aiming and shooting an arrow with little to no light. I would say that put you at an unfair advantage tonight, I didn't even see where you were most of the evening!"

"Well I can't exactly undo a decade's worth of training, it's part of who I am now. It's not really my fault if my strategic planning is superior to yours."

" _And_ ", Magnus continued as if Alec hadn't replied. "You could have told me to wear dark clothes! That was so unfair."

"Hey", Alec held up his hands defensively. "I've never done this before and Clary didn't tell me that light coloured clothes basically glow in the dark. That's not my fault".

"But still," Magnus continued. "Your clothes gave you an advantage. You got to blend into the background whilst my jeans basically created a flashing neon 'please aim here' sign."

"Still not my fault", Alec responded as he wrapped an arm around Magnus' shoulders. There was a slight pause before he asked a little unsurely; "but you did have fun tonight, right?"

Magnus immediately felt bad; had all his complaining really made Alec feel as if he hadn't enjoyed himself? After all the effort Alec put in to choosing something fun for them to do, it made a strong wave of guilt wash over him.

"Oh no, I did, I did", Magnus rushed to assure him. "I can't even tell you how much I love seeing you this happy..."

"But I want to see you happy too Magnus", Alec interjected.

"But I am. I had good fun tonight even if I'm no good at it. Sometimes, having a good run around is better at relieving stress than sitting and watching a movie, and that's just what I think we needed. I think I'm just too competitive for my own good. But please don't think I disliked any of this evening because I loved it all. I love _you_ ". Magnus squeezed Alec's waist for emphasis.

"I love you too", Alec replied. "And I'm glad you had fun, I did too. Maybe next time you can choose what we do".

"Okay", Magnus smiled.

The rest of the walk was spent discussing possible activities for their next date, so it wasn't until they were at the door to the restaurant that Alec playfully asked: "you weren't trying to get out of buying me dinner by arguing the result was unfair were you?"

"Of course not", Magnus finally replied once the waiter led them to a table in the corner and left them to look at their menus. "I would buy you dinner every day for the rest of your life if it meant that I got to spend mine with you."

* * *

 **A/N-** I dunno I just feel Alec would appreciate laser tag. As always, feel free to let me know what you think, and if you liked it keep an eye out because I might write a follow up.


End file.
